Rocky is the ultimate chump-to-champ

The Rocky story, on movie screens once again this week with the release of "Rocky Balboa," touches a chord in many of us who pursue our own dreams in the competitive American marketplace.

But the cool thing about America is that Rocky Balboas are everywhere.

Sylvester Stallone is the obvious example to start with.

Stallone was a struggling actor who spent a few days writing a screenplay that he hoped someone would buy and let him star in. The odds were against him, but six "Rocky" movies later, he's a multi-millionaire and a movie star.

Was the first "Rocky" movie about Stallone's life? There are parallels, he has said, but no.

What most people don't realize is that there is a real Italian Stallion, though he's not from Philly. He's the Bayonne Bleeder, Chuck Wepner from Bayonne, N.J.

After losing fights to George Foreman and Sonny Liston, many fans thought he was done. But he put together a string of wins, and at age 36 was given the opportunity to face Muhammad Ali in 1975.

Starting to sound familiar? Could Apollo Creed have been any more like Ali if he'd tried?

In the ninth round, Wepner sent Ali to the canvas (although some suggest he simply stepped on Ali's foot and tripped him.) Ali came back and won in a TKO in the 15th, but the Bayonne Bleeder went the distance.

A year later, in 1976, the first "Rocky" movie was a blockbuster. And after the embarrassment of a horrible "Rocky V," Stallone said, at age 60, that he had to get back in the ring to forge a lasting legacy he could be proud of.

These days, boxing is no longer restricted to the dark and dingy gyms of the inner city. White-collar boxing has surged in popularity over the last decade, and people now can afford to take boxing lessons at more "comfortable" gyms like East Bank Club.

At the club, training is ongoing for the finale of a boxing trilogy between two 60-year-olds: Larry "The Dentist" Feldman vs. Mike "The Attorney" Tarnoff. The match is tentatively set for March.

"The first fight I beat him; the second fight he beat me," Feldman told me, without a hint of Ali theatrics. "The third fight I will win with no doubt."

Glen Freedman, an amateur boxer in the '80s, trains Feldman at East Bank Club. He says white-collar boxing is about more than just staying in shape. Boxing can give you newfound confidence.

"They want to learn to fight. I don't care what they tell me--they all fantasize about kicking someone's ass over a parking space," Freedman said. "People who were never athletes are really empowered. They feel like Ali. They've discovered a new talent."

Whether it's building confidence or rebuilding your reputation as a filmmaker, it's never too late to reshape your persona or restore your reputation.

It takes dedication and discipline to meet the challenge to change--especially when you're the underdog.